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Tonight's Decision

Katatonia - Tonight's Decision Audio CD

A fair review of the Katatonia "Tonight's Decision" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Katatonia reviews here, or go back to the Katatonia tabs.

Band: Katatonia
Title: Tonight's Decision
Rating:

Release Date: 2001-02-27
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: For My Demons 2: I Am Nothing 3: In Death, A Song 4: Had To (Leave) 5: This Punishment 6: Right into the Bliss 7: No Good Can Come of This 8: Strained 9: Darkness Coming 10: Nightmares by the Sea 11: Black Session + (Secret Instrumental) 12: No Devotion [*] 13: Fractured [*]

Not one of their best, but great nonetheless.
The band had a reasonably stable line-up by now, although Dan Swano plays drums on this album instead of Jonas Renkse (who from now on would concentrate solely on vocals) and bassist Micke Oretoft had left between albums (Fred Norman plays both guitar and bass on this album). "Tonight's Decision" is the Swedes 4th full length studio album. Other than these small changes, the members of this line-up still all exist in the band today.

"Tonight's Decision" doesn't really alter the sound of "Discouraged Ones" all that much. It's very much in the suicide rock vain that they had transformed into after "Brave Murder Day". But this would have to be their mellowest album with slightly catchier tunes than they usually write. That's not to say they went entirely commercial as the melancholy and depressive nature that is Katatonia's trademark is firmly in place. It's just a bit rockier and less metallic than albums before and after with more of a focus on chorus. While I think it has a better production than "Discouraged Ones" which was a little weak sounding at times, particularly the guitars and drums, I don't think the songs are as strong as on that release.

Katatonia at this stage in their career would occasionally come across a little awkwardly in the lyrics and vocals department and this is the album that it shows up the most. I really like Jonas' style of singing in general and I think he improves each album from now onwards, but when combined with such honest yet dreary lyrics, he occasionally comes across as trying just a little too hard to be dramatic and depressing. The guitars as always are what make Katatonia's music so great. The reasonably high lead of Anders is often contrasting with Fred's dirge-like rhythm, yet they always combine to make emotionally touching music.

Tracks such as "Right Into the Bliss" and "A Darkness Coming" really work for me. Others such as "No Good Can Come of This" and the Jeff Buckley cover "Nightmares by the Sea" don't work quite as well, but overall this is another good Katatonia release that will please pretty much anyone that likes their modern albums. It's not one of their best, but then they've been so consistently excellent over the years that even their lesser releases are recommended.

The Darkness Has Come
In the beginning, there was the slow and boring black metal release "Dance of December Souls", that was immediately relegated to the mediocre and mostly talent less pile. Katatonia is one of those rare bands that went through a drastic change in style and actually came out better for it. Things started to look up when they signed on Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth to do the vocals for their next two black metal releases, "Brave Murder Day" and "Sounds of Decay". Without warning, Katatonia suddenly switched gears from plodding atmospheric black metal to something completely different with their album "Discouraged Ones". Not quite extreme metal, but certainly heavier than pop or rock, they still managed to retain some vestiges of atmosphere and the visceral feeling of doom that permeated their early releases.

Fast-forward one album to "Tonight's Decision". Here the sound Katatonia was grasping for previously has been refined and had a lot of the kinks worked out. The music has become more upbeat than in past offerings, but still definitely has a bleak and dark undertone. Everything sounds much cleaner as well, and it's a lot easier to pick out individual sounds and instruments within the whole. The opening track sets the tone for the whole album, starting off with discordant sounds that don't particular appear to be any one single instrument, and then breaking out into some fancy guitar work that is reasonably heavy, but not crossing the line into actual metal. The vocal work is solid, remaining understandable throughout the whole album, and capturing an essence of despair. After running through the album a couple of times the listener will start to develop an emotional connection with the music. Memories and feelings will surface unbidden as the vocals mix seamlessly with the music to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The second to last track, "Nightmares by the Sea", is probably the best here, creating a unique atmosphere that is neither bleak nor uplifting, but somehow managing to be both at the same time. Some of the distortion of the vocals are used here, which becomes more prevalent during later Katatonia albums, but everything is still clear enough to be understood.

This album is a perfect transition between the music of Katatonia's past and the sounds of their future. It is highly recommended to all audiences, regardless of musical tastes.

Dark Rock Masterpiece!! \m/
Most likely one of the best Dark Rock albums ever recorded. every single song on this record is excellent! One of the few albums I own that I can just let the whole thing play, over and over on repeat. .

Very solid release
While they aren't the most depressing sounding band i've ever heard (Godspeed you Black Emperor and My Dying Bride beat them) they are good at what they do. Katatonia is of course, known for their very dark, depressing tone in their music. Tonight's Desicion is the perfect halfway point between the less depressing, more upbeat feel on "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and the darker, heavyer "Discouraged Ones. " Those albums are both brilliant in their own way also.

The artwork in this cd is amazing thanks to the great Travis Smith. The booklet is filled with depressing and original artwork and photography.

Some of my favorite songs are "For my Demons," "I am Nothing," "Had to (Leave)," "A Darkness Coming," and "Nightmares by the Sea. " The first 2 songs are a great example of the bands catchy(but only if you have an ear for it) doomy, heavy (with haunting clean vocals) style of this album. Just one of the many styles of Katatonia. "Had to (Leave)" and most of the other songs have some melodic, sad, brilliant riffs and vocal melodies (and lyrics).

"Nightmares by the Sea" is a cover of a Jeff Buckley song. Katatonia left both the original sound to it and also twisted it into their own sound. If you didnt know it was a cover you probably wouldn't have the slightest idea it was. This is probably the most upbeat song on the album and works perfectly after the darkest, softest song "A Darkness Coming" which is an extremely dark tune with acoustic guitars and deep melodies.

Each Katatonia album probably has its number of fans who see it as their best, but if this is still missing from your collection, don't miss out. If you are a brand new fan, this would make a great introduction even though "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" would usually make a better introduction.

Four and a half stars, more like....
Stripped down, relatively effects free production gives this album the band's clearest sound yet. Katatonia's simplest, catchiest album, although that's not to demean it in any way. The bonus tracks are also quite good. "No Good Can Come Of This" is quite possibly the most depressing song ever written. Buy immediately.

You can see a complete list of all Katatonia discography, or go back to the Katatonia tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.